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Published: December 5th 2006
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Huanchaco in all her beauty
One of the many magnificent sunsets we enjoyed while sitting on the beach Onwards and upwards, into Lima we plough, and what we discover is a city we can definitely handle. We head out to the pleasant suburb of Miraflores with its tree lined streets, modern houses and cliff side mall. We enjoy the luxuries of city life for only two days before we embark north to the fishing village of Huanchaco.
Having arrived at 6.00am in the morning, our first mission was to find a hostel and catch up on some much needed sleep. Lucky for us the first hostel we went to, “La Casa Suiza,” was full so we found a great family run place down the other end of town. After speaking to some locals we found out that “La Casa Suiza” had a policy of NO PERUVIANS ALLOWED. Unbelievable! While illegal, they still seem to get away with it.
Later in the day, after a delicious veggie meal, it was off to explore the town. Huanchaco is a delightful seaside village famous for its surf and the traditional fishing methods still used there. As we had arrived in the low season it was great to be surrounded by more locals then tourists and we were able to really
Traditional fisherman
This guy is going to check his nets on a traditional reed boat, in the company of some local surf kids appreciate the Peruvian culture out on the coast. On our first day we were approached by the local spanish teacher who just wanted to chat, and he eventually introduced us to Juan Carlos, one of the local surf instructors. We arranged for a surf lesson the next day and spent the rest of the day playing in the surf and just relaxing.
Our surf lesson the next day was great, for $NZ20 we had a 2hr lesson that included indepth theory and then out in the ocean where I managed to stand the first two times. The rest of the lesson was pretty exhausting with plenty of paddling and lots of falling over.
The next day we were off to see some of the historical sites around the Trujillo area. The one that impressed us the most was Chan Chan, the ancient city of the Chimu people (pre Inka). The city is made out of mud bricks and rocks and is estimated to have housed 150,000 in its hay-day. Only a small portion of the city is open to the public as most of it has been eroded by floods or is lying under hundreds of years of
On a path of discovery
One of the minor historical temples in the Trujillo area sand. We were lucky enough to be shown around by an excellent English speaking guide who shared the history of the site with us. By the time we left, we were in awe of these people. Inside the boundary walls we saw some ceremonial plazas, a natural spring, temples, lodgings, store houses and the graves of the nobility.
After four days in Huanchaco we decided to head north to Mancora with the promise of warmer water and more surf. We arrived at 5.30am and picked a hostal on the beach, Andrew was trusted to check out the room while I waited with the bags, Andrew gave the all clear and we checked in. We thought we were getting a bargain at 30 soles a night but it turns out that we were infact getting ripped off at $US30 for the night. After a quick snooze we checked out the town, full of tourists, bikini clad sunbathers, kite surfers and absolutely no surf. The town just wasn´t quite us so we decided to book a bus back to Huanchaco the following night.
We were glad to be back in Huachaco where we went out for another surf lesson and
Chan Chan
The magnificant city of Chan Chan. These walls stood at 3meters tall a few hundred years ago also checked out another archeological site called Huaca del Sol and Huaca de la Luna (Temples of the Sun and Moon). Huaca de la Luna was built by the Moche people (pre Inka and Chimu) and absolutely took my breath away. The site is still undergoing excavation and the history of the site was fascinating. The temple resembles a pyrimid made up of various levels, that were built up over 600 years. Inside the temple we saw the original paintings that the Moche people used as decoration as well as a story telling medium. Again we were fortunate enough to be in the company of an excellent guide who filled us in on the archeological findings to date and the history of the site. Again I marvelled at the skill of these people and at the task of creating such a structure that must have been some sight in its prime.
Well next it is back to Lima to catch our flight (yes thats right flight!) to Cusco to finally experience Machu Picchu.
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